With dozens of people losing their lives, trees crushing cars and building facades being ripped apart, charging your cell phone was still a main concern for many New York residents.

For many who live in New York City the concept of a storm the magnitude of Hurricane Sandy is a strange concept and they went about their business as usual New Yorkers.

That’s why when Mayor Bloomberg encouraged New Yorkers to stay indoors, avoid driving on roadways and evacuate certain areas of the city many didn’t.

Even into the beginning stages of the hurricane stores remained open, cars continued to cut each other off and pedestrians fought the wind on their way to work.

At around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, a line of cars formed up 2nd Avenue in Manhattan in an attempt to be the first to jump across the Queensboro Bridge. The bridge is closed, said a police officer stationed there, information that the majority on the line had already known.

As the brunt of the storm hit late Monday night people were still out on the streets, taking pictures of the trees and transformer boxes as they were exploding. The streets were quiet but not silent. Despite power outages certain buildings in lower Manhattan, which weren’t even in use at the time, relied on backup generators to keep the lights on for no one inside.

What most should have done: stay indoors, evacuate if mandatory and try to grasp the concept that experts in the field of meteorology know better than they do.

It may be that most who live here are simply naïve to the fact that Mother Nature can pack such a punch. Or it could be that with the over-planning of Hurricane Irene last year and how relatively calm that storm was that most didn’t give Sandy a second thought. Now it’s clear that as the city reflects on fatalities and significant destruction that this was truly a storm for the ages.